Union SG vs Anderlecht Prediction: Both sides hope to start on a good note

On the opening day of the 2023–24 Belgian top division season, Union SG will meet Anderlecht at the Joseph Marien Stadium. The regular season ended with Anderlecht in 11th place, while Union SG finished third in the playoffs.

The fact that Union SG had to settle for third place during the previous campaign is likely to have served only to further drive this team to achieve their goal of winning the championship this time around.

This team began their preseason with a 9-0 triumph against Nijlen, followed by a 1-1 draw against Monaco, a 4-0 thumping of RFC Liege, and a 0-0 stalemate against Feyenoord. In addition to that, they won both of their games against Oostende and Valenciennes by a score of 1-0. This team appears to be ready for action, as they have gone unbeaten in their previous matches in preparation for this season.

Union SG have lost some significant players, with Victor Boniface signing with Bayer Leverkusen after scoring 17 goals and assisting on 12 more in 2022-23. This team, however, will benefit from the addition of Charles Vanhoutte, Ross Sykes, Mathias Rasmussen, and Dennis Eckert Ayensa to their squad in order to increase their strength for the upcoming season.

Anderlecht's performance in the standings at the end of the previous season was both very poor and unremarkable. After posting their worst finish in Belgian football since 1937, they are faced with the challenge of striving to work their way back into the top ranks of the competition. While Brian Riemer deserves credit for bringing the team back together in the second part of the season, the team's performance that left them four points out of the playoff picture is unsustainable.

Anderlecht will look to improve upon the play that got them to the quarterfinals of the Europa Conference League, with the possibility that their current absence of international play will prove to be an advantage.

The departure of goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen to Brighton & Hove Albion in a lucrative deal was a setback to the club, but the acquisition of Kasper Dolberg might be a game-changer if the Denmark international can rediscover the form he showed earlier in his career. That would be the debut for goalkeeper Maxime Dupe, right back Louis Patris, and striker Dolberg, all of whom are new to the team. As a player who has joined on loan from Dynamo Kiev, Justin Lonwijk will also be hoping to get some playing time at some point in the season.

Union St Gilloise : Joachim Imbrechts(GK), Arnaud Dony, Christian Burgess, Koki Machida, Bart Nieuwkoop, Nathan Huygevelde, Guillaume Francois, Jean Thierry Lazare Amani, Elton Kabangu, Dennis Eckert Ayensa, Simon Adingra.

Anderlecht : Maxime Dupe(GK), Louis Patris, Zeno Debast, Jan Vertonghen, Moussa N'Diaye, Majeed Ashimeru, Amadou Diawara, Kristian Arnstad, Anders Dreyer, Kasper Dolberg, Francis Amuzu.

Anderlecht will be playing with the intention of reclaiming and regaining their glory days, but it will be difficult for them to do so against this tough home team who are desperate to win the league title. On the other hand, both teams have scored in 15 of the last 20 matches played by Union Saint-Gilloise, therefore I anticipate that game to end with both sides finding the back of the net.